Gary Peacock - The Beginnings. West Coast Years 1959-1962 (2020)

Bassist Gary Peacock (1935-2020) made his first recordings in the West Coast between 1959 and 1962. He was in his mid-20s when he arrived in Los Angeles, and although his talent was starting to get some recognition, not many would have counted Peacock among the most proficient young bassists in jazz. After the release of these recordings, there were few who wouldn't have.

Before him, the most prominent new bassists of the early 1960s were Scott LaFaro, followed by Charlie Haden, Steve Swallow and Chuck Israels. LaFaro's unexpected death in 1961 was a great loss because we most likely missed on further developments he would have contributed to the role of bass in jazz. Gary Peacock's push for innovation was a win for the same reason. The Peacock who suddenly burst in 1962 onto recordings with Jimmy Woods, Clare Fischer and with Don Ellis and Paul Bley was among the most challenging young musicians in jazz, a bassist learning to make his way into the most advanced groups. His playing had come far since his recordings with Bud Shank or Carmell Jones two years earlier, in an evolution that had no turning back.

Gary Peacock was sure that “although you may have an idea of where you are in your work, a record will show you where you really are —you and anyone else who hears it.” Listening to this compilation of his early recordings, you may find the answer.